


Synchronicity

by vulcanplomeeksoup



Category: Hannibal (TV), Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Drift Bond, Drift Compatibility, Gen, M/M, Rare Pairings, The Drift (Pacific Rim)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-03-09 15:29:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13484421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vulcanplomeeksoup/pseuds/vulcanplomeeksoup
Summary: Jaeger pilot Will Graham's unique drift compatibility with Hannibal Lecter is perhaps the missing link needed to save the world from Kaiju invasion and cancel the apocalypse. A Pacific Rim / Hannibal fusion AU, featuring Hannigram and guest starring Madancy Rare Pairs (Because I can and it's fun :D). For @hannibalcreative #LightsCameraMurder Event.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For @hannibalcreative #LightsCameraMurder Event. 
> 
> This is a Pacific Rim AU I've been drafting since forever. I may just post it now before it gets...forgotten in my folder. XD

_And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. — The Beast out of the Sea, Revelation 13_

—

//~July 22nd, 2024: Hong Kong~//

Fresh blood leaking from the belly of the beast had tainted the streets an eerie electric blue.

Kaiju blue. 

Blue used to be Nigel’s favourite colour; Not anymore; He now hated it. He watched with cold eyes as the dead body of a Kaiju was dismantled piece by piece, systematically, under his command. 

Lying amid a pile of rubble that had been a stadium was a creature colossal in size, shaped like a giant lizard and frog and spider combined. _Ugly bastard._ Nigel looked at the deformed head of the Kaiju with a disgusted pout. The acidic smell of Kaiju blood in the air slightly burned his nostrils and left a horrible taste in his mouth. He twitched his nose in dismay, then took a long drag on the ever-present cigarette held between his fingers. 

His team had been working swiftly in and out of the dissected body of the fallen Kaiju for about an hour now, wearing heavy duty gears; Busy cutting up skins and bones into smaller pieces, preserving valuable organs in chemicals. Some of them are collecting parasites that were piggybacking on the skin; They soaked the bugs in huge tanks of ammonia in order to keep them alive. 

There was a gigantic pile of Kaiju shit lying on the sidewalk waiting to be loaded into buckets then into trucks parked nearby. One cubic meter of Kaiju's poop can be used to fertilise the whole field. Nigel already had three orders coming in for the fucking shit five minutes after the Kaiju was beaten to a pulp by the Jaeger. 

Nigel was a cynical and short tempered, but wealthy and materialistic individual with strong beliefs. He had been involved in black marketeering since before the emergence of the Kaiju in 2013. He had smuggled almost _everything_ , his connections to organised crime in Asia, Russia and Eastern Europe tied him to drug and weapons smuggling. 

During the earliest tenure of the Kaiju War, Nigel and his business partner Darko were officially contracted by the Pan Pacific Defense Corps (PPDC) to assist in the recovery of Kaiju remains in exchange for profits, however, in 2021 the PPDC end their affiliation with them. They continued to harvest body parts from dead Kaiju and sold them on the black market via his organisation ‘Kaiju Remedies’.

There was a Kaiju-Science division (K-Science) in the PPDC that was in charge of the detection and analysis of Kaiju. Compared to formal K-Science officers, Nigel’s knowledge in Kaiju anatomy was quite extensive. As a black market dealer, Nigel provided the public with merchandise that was considered illegal by the PPDC and unattainable through conventional means. The PPDC appeared to allow Nigel’s organisation to sell whatever Kaiju body parts except for those that had research and military value. In return, his relationship with the PPDC made him a valued asset to their cause. 

He remained able to sell or salvage Kaiju parts because of the sole supplier contract he had with personnels leading the PPDC. The arrangement provided the PPDC with necessary funding for war effort, as well as Kaiju parts which have military value. The profits he made from selling Kaiju organs and body parts allowed him to expand his business quickly all over the world. He cared little for politics, or the people who work for him. Nigel was a dangerous man, a skilled businessman, seeing as he was able to continue a massive -and profitable- illegal operation in a broken world that was falling apart under the non-stop Kaiju attacks. 

While the others were preparing the harvested parts from the Kaiju to be transported to storage, one other team of Nigel’s men were inside the belly of the beast quite literally. They had little cameras mounted on the shoulder of their protective suits, sending live video footage to a portal monitor held in Nigel’s hands. 

Watching the mess of bloody viscera and random moving flash lights on screen, Nigel couldn’t exactly make out which part of the Kaiju he was looking at. He shouted into the comm, “Boys! What the fuck is going on in there?”

“We’ve reached the upper pelvic area, Boss.” One of his scouts answered. "Moving to the twenty-fifth vertebra, I think I can see the...Wait! IS THAT A—!?” There came a muffled scream, then muffled screams. 

“Wait? What the fuck do you mean, ‘wait’? Hey! Answer me!” The noises had Nigel mildly concerned, then everything went quiet, leaving only eerie silence on the other end. The hair on his arm stood on end. He scrunched up his nose in dismay. “What the fuck is going on!” 

On screen, a flashlight was trained on a membranous wall, and something was moving behind the membrane. At first, Nigel thought it was just signal interruption; But then, he heard it again. There was a rhythmic noise ringing from the earpiece in his left ear. Thump-thump… Thump-thump... Thump-thump...

A fucking heartbeat. There was a fucking heartbeat inside the Kaiju.

 _Impossible._ ”What the fuck?" Nigel flicked away his cigarette and squinted his eyes. There was clearly some movement in the membrane, behind the membrane. The ugly bitch was clearly dead, and a heartbeat was definitely impossible…Unless…

Then the truth dawned on him. 

“Oh my God. It can’t be.” Nigel murmured quietly. He instinctively stepped backward, ready to bolt and flee at any moment; In fact, he was walking backward fast now that his hand was reaching for the hunting knife in his belt and yanked it out from the holster at the same time.

“Boss! Can you hear that?” His scout whispered into the mic in confusion. “A heartbeat!”

"Yes, I can fucking hear that! Get the fuck out of there! NOW." Nigel yelled into the comm. “The bitch is fucking pregnant!”

The radio connection turned to static and the video was cut out the moment Nigel saw sharp claws ripping open its birthing sac. 

Mere seconds later, a baby kaiju twice the size of a bull elephant tore out of the kaiju's abdomen, snapping its elongated fanged mouth and squealed. 

Nigel's crew, though experienced, began to panic and scattered. 

The creature thrashed its tail and gasped and rattled and crawled its way through the street, knocking over a bunch of Nigel's pricey recovery instruments on its way escaping from the corpse of its mother. 

Nigel paused to look back at the marks on the pavement left by the scraping claws, he was ready to run again but he wasn’t running just yet. 

_Any moment now._

The umbilical cord wrapping around the baby kaiju's torso and neck soon reached the limit of its length. The newborn creature wheezed a terrible noise before collapsing to the the ground. Its tail flicked around for a while longer before it dropped dead, for good. 

Nigel kept holding the knife at chest level even after it grew quiet. A long, cautious pause, Nigel and his crew warily approached the corpse of the baby Kaiju, stepping over a trail of amniotic fluid and corrosive bile.

The now dead bulging eyes of the baby Kaiju were murky white, no longer rolling in every direction like a giant, freaky chameleon. They stared blankly at Nigel, who stared blankly at at it in return. 

"What the fucking fuck?" Nigel cursed as he lit a new cigarette and looked away; Hs face unconsciously made an annoyed twitch as he brushed back the sweat-soaked hair from his forehead. He fished out his phone from the pocket of his wiener dogs Hawaiian shirt, and dialled a number out of memory.

“Hey. It’s me.” Nigel’s voice sounded casual but his tone was dead serious; It was a deeper voice that he used exclusive when he was talking to important clients whom had earned his respect in the past; Clients from the PPDC, from K-Science. “I think I’ve got what you want. — Yes. Whole and intact, in one piece. — Both of them, primary and secondary. Yup. — Deal. — Send someone here to pick them up. ASAP.”

—

The cell phone tucked in Marshal Jack Crawford’s uniform pocket vibrated just when he stepped out of the elevator onto the helipad of Hong Kong Shatterdome. 

Hong Kong Shatterdome was one of the last remaining Shatterdomes in operation, under the command of the recently promoted Marshal Jack Crawford. Since 2013, over eight Shatterdomes were built in response to the increasing threat of Kaiju attacks occurring in the Pacific Rim in order to prevent massive damages to cities. Marshals for the PPDC like Jack Crawford were figure head and the final word in regards to military movements, strategies, and deployment. They were responsible for assigning Drift teams together and who went out to face the Kaiju. 

A heavy rain was falling. People were running around the landing platform yelling at each other as cargos were unloaded from massive aircrafts. Noises around Crawford were deafeningly loud and the reception of the phone was bad but Doctor Alana Bloom’s shouting in his ear was loud and clear when he pressed the green button on the phone. 

“— I told you not to put him out there!" Dr. Bloom yelled in an angry voice. 

Crawford paused his steps at the gate. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew exactly the ‘Him’ whom Dr. Bloom was talking about, and he didn’t want to talk about that right now. “Dr. Bloom.” 

Dr. Alana Bloom was the chief psychologist at The Jaeger Academy as well as a consultant with the PPDC. The Jaeger Academy was an institution created by the PPDC to train new pilots for their respective Jaegers in the war against the Kaiju. She was also a good friend of Marshal Crawford, one of the only few who could rattle him since he respected her far too much to yell at her, no matter how much he wanted to. And she took advantage of that.

“‘ _He won't get too close_ ’, you told me. You said you would cover him. You could see he was breaking! — “

“Yes, I could. Of course I could see it.” Crawford interrupted her. 

“And still you—“

“And I kept pushing him because he was saving lives, Alana. Every decision I made concerning Will Graham’s mental health I made under advisement of a qualified Psych Analyst, whom you had no problem with all along!” Crawford pointed out. 

Dr. Bloom went silent, then she said, “Chilton had to know. He had to see something was wrong.” 

“Not until it was too late. Just like everybody else.” Crawford said, lowering his voice unconsciously. “Look, Chilton only told me that Will was exhibiting some signs of distress; Headaches, nightmares. Will had a brain scan. They found nothing.” 

Alana voice turned harsh. “Jack, I don’t think Chiton is good enough for your Team, for Will. You have to let him go.”

Crawford gave a small grin, congratulating himself for thinking one step ahead of the smart doctor. “Already have.”

“What?”

“Chilton is out. We have a new Jaeger Psych Analyst, and he’s arriving today. Soon.” The sound of an approaching helicopter made Crawford look up to the gloomy sky. “In fact. Now.”

“I haven’t got the memo.” Alana said coldly. 

“Because Doctor Lecter wanted to surprise you.” Crawford sighed, then hissed a low chuckle-like sound. “He told me he wanted it to be a surprise for you.”

“Lecter? Hannibal Lecter?” Alana asked, confused. It had been a while since she last heard the name, since after the doctor left PPDC. 

Hannibal Lecter was a legendary Ranger at The Jaeger Academy; Well-respected as an excellent ex-pilot turned Psych Analyst. He was the mentor of Alana back when she interned as psychologist at the Jaeger training program. 

“Yes. Your former mentor, and now colleague.” Crawford replied absently. The helicopter was touching down, he opened the black umbrella in his hand and walked into the rain. He said, “He’s here. I gotta go.”

The call was ended so abruptly that it was almost rude.

Rain from the sky was falling even harder, the noise louder than ever. Crawford strode purposefully across the helipad. He waved at the middle-aged man gracefully stepping out from the transport helicopter; A man whom he assumed was Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

“Thank you for the pleasant journey.” Crawford heard the doctor said to the pilot; His voice thick with an accent Crawford couldn't quite place. 

The doctor was carrying a large standard issued military duffle bag, smartly dressed in all black with his ashen brown hair meticulously slicked back neat and tidy. A drop of rain fell onto and slide down the high cheekbones just when Crawford extended the umbrella in his hand to cover the man out of courtesy. 

A pleased grin spread over Dr. Lecter’s face, his maroon eyes glistening with a warmth that didn’t quite match with the cold stillness around him with his cold demeanour. He extended a formal hand, and tilted his head in greeting, “Marshal Crawford.”

“Honoured to meet you, Dr. Lecter.” Crawford took the hand and gave him a firm handshake. “Welcome to Hong Kong Shatterdome.”


	2. Chapter 2

Adam Raki’s legs were still trembling five minutes after he got off the military helicopter. He hated the helicopter ride almost as much as he hated the over talkative helicopter pilot who wanted to chat him up the entire journey she flew him in from his laboratory at K-Science Headquarters to here; Here, where the mysterious organisation ‘Kaiju Remedies’ had a base of operations next to the skeletal remains of a Kaiju long fallen; A temple that was currently used as a temple by Kaiju Cultists who saw Kaiju as servants or archangels to gods, displeased with mankind's evil behavior.

Worshipping Kaiju as if it was a religion. Adam winced at merely the thought of it. Adam believed in science and computers; He believed in The Big Bang and the expanding universe; He believed in calculations and physics; He believed there was nothing wrong eating instant macaroni and cheese every night for dinner; But he didn’t believe in God, nor any religion for that matter. 

The passion these people had for Kaiju was hard to understand for Adam; Much like the passion of his colleagues had for Kaiju biology: The Kaiju Science Trio consisting of cryptozoologists Beverly Katz, Jimmy Price, and Brian Zeller; A.k.a. the infamous ‘Kaiju Groupies’ of K-Science. Cryptozoologists of the K-Science division studied and dissected the remains of Kaiju in order to determine possible weaknesses of Kaiju. The three of them actually volunteered to pick up the _item_ and escorted its transferred back to the lab from Kaiju Remedies, but Marshal Crawford just wouldn’t allow that to happen because of obvious reasons. ( _Because they had ‘more important things to attend to, he said; ‘So let the damn intern go’_ , he said, as he pointed a finger at Adam.)

Adam was not exactly an intern at K-Science but a proper scientist assigned to an elite team that program codes for the Jaegers; People always mistook him for one only because he looked way too young and quiet to be taken seriously, even though he was over-qualified for his post. 

Every time it happened Adam didn’t know how to correct those people. His Asperger's had no negative impact on his work, it did make it quite hard for him to socialise with other colleagues like a neurotypical person, like anybody else; But since K-Science was already filled with way too many weirdos and defected personalities, Adam didn’t exactly stand out working among them as much as he did in his previous jobs. 

It was quite a relief for Adam to feel accepted at his workplace, to be able blend in with the others for once in his life. He treasured his job at K-Science, and he was determined to get his task for today done. He pushed open the heavy double door to the shop front of Kaiju Remedies with determination, but walked in with hesitant steps. 

Shopkeepers and customers in the crowded shop were talking rather loudly around Adam, making him very nervous. He was way too anxious to even speak up to anybody, not even when a pretty girl approached him and asked with a big grin, “How may I help you, Handsome? Do you want some Kaiju Bone Powder?”

Kaiju Bone Powder. Adam had heard about it. Ground up cartilage from Kaiju had been known to work as a powerful aphrodisiac. A faint blush appeared on his cheeks. Adam said, “No, um I, um, I’m coming for the, um. Here.” 

He took a ID wallet from his coat pocket and showed the girl his K-Science officer badge, and upon seeing it, the smile on the girl’s face faded in a flash. She gestured Adam to follow her rather impatiently, and upon entering a spacious backroom behind locked door, she yelled with the top of her voice that made Adam cringe, “Nigel! They’re here!”

There was even more noises and way more chaotic in the backroom than the shopfront. Workers were yelling at each other while moving moist Kaiju body parts around in bags, boxes, crates, jars and tanks. There were Kaiju organs everywhere against the wall, floating in tanks filled with curious chemicals. The messy dissecting stations had tabletops coated with dull blue stains that Adam assumed were dried Kaiju blood. Even though the room was adequately ventilated, the air smelled terrible. 

Everything was way too overwhelming for Adam’s senses. Distressed, his confused eyes wandering left and right frantically in search for the _‘Nigel’_ whom the girl was yelling at. 

It was when Adam bumped into a worker carrying a wriggling creature in his gloved hands by accident; And suddenly Adam felt insect-like legs crawling on his chest. He panicked and fell to the the floor with a yelp.

Someone reacted immediately, swiftly, reaching out a hand to catch Adam before his body hit the floor hard with lightning fast reflex; And at the same time his other hand grabbed the freaky creature in the air and pulled it away from Adam; Throwing it to floor, the man produced a pocket knife out of nowhere and violent stabbed it hard right through where the heart was likely to be. 

Everything happened so fast that Adam wasn’t sure what had exactly happened, but when his mind managed to calm down enough to focus his eyes on his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was the strong smell of cigarettes that was enveloping him so suddenly it made him dizzy; Unlike the pungent smell of average cigarettes, the scent smelled oddly like burning herbs, strong but warm and comforting; Then he realised he was still clutched protectively in the arm of a stranger tight against his chest. 

Adam looked up at the man. ‘Dangerous’ was a word he would use to describe him, but Adam was not scared of him at all. The dangerous stranger had his one hand looped around Adam’s waist, and the other held higher up in the air still holding onto an intimating hunting knife; Pierced on the sharp point of the blade was a struggling alien insect; Dozens of its tiny legs were wriggling in a way that made Adam’s skin crawl, screaming in the most awful noise Adam had ever heard. 

One of the workers wearing protective gloves immediately rushed forward to take the squeaking alien insect away; He pulled the dying thing off the blade, swiftly wiped the knife clean with disinfectant, before returning it to his boss with a respectful bow. 

The man took the knife with a silent nod and slipped it back into his pocket. Eyes following the man’s movement, Adam noticed there was a streak of blood dripping from a cut wound on the man’s hand, down his forearm. He uttered a frightened gasp, “You’re hurt!”

The man lowered his gaze to the cut across his palm and shrugged. “The pain's going away already.” 

“I’m so, so sorry!”

“I said it’s fine.” Mildly annoyed, the man’s eyes narrowed at Adam; He was puzzled, and surprised, to see the genuine worried expression, and kindness, on Adam’s face. 

His heart sank. _What the fuck?_ The guy was not faking his concern out of courtesy, but why? Nobody had ever cared about him as much as this clumsy stranger. The man let out a sigh; His voice was uncharacteristically gentle as he repeated, his annoyance gone without a trace. As short-tempered as he was, for some mysterious reasons he was way too fascinated by the man to get angry at him. 

“It's nothing. Kaiju Skinmite is not poisonous. It’ll heal. Don’t worry about it.” 

But Adam’s body began to shake upon seeing the man’s blood; He started making wheezing noises from his throat as if he was short of breath, apparently on the verge of having a panic attack episode. 

“Fuck!” Nigel cursed. He snapped a finger at the nearest person standing by him, “Hey! You! Go get the tea! Yes, _The Fucking Tea_. Go. Now!”

Adam felt his body was lifted off from the ground by strong arms and eased onto a soft surface. The physical contact gave Adam a shiver but it wasn’t unpleasant. His mind blacked out for a bit and when he came to again, he felt a mug of something steaming was offered to him, pressed into his hands and against his lips. He took a sip of it out of reflex; A soothing warmth blossomed in his chest, his body relaxed and he let out a content sigh. 

“Are you alright?” The man kneeling by his side asked, looking slightly concerned. “Here. Take another sip.”

Adam blinked and gulped. He nodded his thanks, and replied with a low voice, “This is very good-smelling tea.” 

The man didn’t want to stress him more than necessary, so he didn’t mention to him that there was Flaky Cake sprinkled into the tea. Flaky Cakes were dried skin powder of reptilian Kaiju that had instant effect for treating anxiety; It cured fever, headache and nausea way faster than any modern medicine could. So he lied, “English breakfast. I call it coffee without the bad breath.”

“Oh.” Adam smiled. He finished the mysterious tea gratefully sip by sip. A little curious, he stole a glance, a long glance, at the stranger who was still eyeing at him like he was the most interesting thing in the room.

What a weird man. The clothes on him was weird too. He was wearing a loose, well-worn light blue shirt with childish wiener dogs printed on it. The top few buttons of the shirt had been undone carelessly, exposing a faded tattoo on the side of his neck, which seemed weird we well to Adam because it was a half-naked woman…Who would tattoo a naked lady on their neck? Adam titled his head, puzzled. 

Also visible was the top of the man’s chest, and the sprinkle of pale hair there that looked rather…soft. Adam blushed a little and looked at the man’s face. The profile of the man was rough and angled but with a peculiar attractiveness that made it hard for Adam to look away, especially the sharp cheekbones and the few strands of greying dark blonde hair casually resting right above his dark eyes; Hair that the man casually smoothed back with his unwounded hand in the most perfect way as he caught Adam staring. 

While his vision was still a little blurry, Adam felt like the stranger was the most beautiful man he had even seen. 

The mutual staring started to get a little awkward when Adam’s eyes stayed a while too long on the tattoo all over the man’s knuckles; He was trying to figure out the words -but failed. 

The man pulled his gaze away from Adam first. He cleared his throat and asked, “Can you stand? Or do you want to rest here for a bit?” 

The empty mug was taken from his hands. Adam nodded again politely in the general direction of the man and struggled to stand up from the couch he was lying on. 

“Ye-Yes.” He straightening his sweater with clumsy hands, glad to see the fabric hadn’t been stained blue but the gross alien insect blood. “Thank you, for the tea. Mister…?”

“Nigel.” 

Oh, so he’s _The Nigel_. “Um. Please to meet you. Mr. Nigel.”

“Just Nigel. Fuu- Whatever...” Nigel grunted silently. "Who are you, kid?" 

“I'm not a kid.” Adam hissed a strange laugh like it was a joke but a joke only he understood. He licked his lips. “My name is Adam, Adam Raki. And I'm from— Ugh—“

Nigel lighted a cigarette; He took a drag from it before dangling it between his lips. Adam was distracted so Nigel finished the sentence for him, “From K-Science?”

“Yes. Yes. Oh! Here!” Adam fetched the ID wallet from his coat pocket and showed it to Nigel. “See? From K-Science.”

Nigel leaned in closer to read the man’s name and work title with a glint of amusement in his eyes. Adam Raki. Nice name. 

“Oh. _Dr._ Adam Raki.“ Nigel smirked.

Adam nodded with an embarrassed blush on his cheeks as he shoved his badge back in his pocket with nervous fingers. He said as if he was reciting from some kind of protocol, “I’m here to supervise the immediate transfer of Item Number…Number…”

He was trying so hard to make the conversation as formal, normal, as possible it was kind of hilarious; The effort was kind of adorable in Nigel’s eyes. 

Frowning, Adam fetched a phone from his other pocket; He hurriedly searched for the item’s reference number in the classified mail that was sent to him by Marshal Crawford. 

The mail had given Adam detailed instruction on how to transport the two numbers of Kaiju remains back to K-Science Headquarters; Then Adam realised that all he had else was a reference number; He had no idea what exactly the two numbers of ‘Kaiju remains’ were…

Nigel threw the cigarette to the floor and crushed it with his boot heel. The man Adam had been avoiding eye contact on purpose again, Nigel didn’t understand why he was acting like that; He could see Adam was getting anxious again; To get his attention, he had no choice but stuck a hand directly into Adam’s line of sight and snapped a finger rather loudly. It was then and only then Adam looked up at him with widened blue eyes. 

“Don’t worry about it.” Nigel told him. “The _things_ you need are this way. Follow me, _Dr._ Raki.” 

Nigel gave Adam a charming - distracting - toothy grin before he turned around. He led Adam through dark corridors, up a few staircases, and _so many_ locked doors; Kaiju Remedies was like a maze; Adam would definitely get lost in there without Nigel as his guide. 

The final password-locked door they passed through opened to a surprisingly wide, clean open air cargo area with a helipad facing the harbour, framed by a spectacular view of city lights. 

A team of workers was guiding two huge jars down a ramp from storage, and in the jars — Adam did a double-take — were two Kaiju brains, both primary and secondary, in perfect condition suspending in a sloshing greenish blue chemical solution. 

It was definitely a surprise. The brains were horrendous but fascinating at the same time. Adam had seen images of reconstructed primary and secondary Kaiju brains in training seminars, but never undamaged specimens in real life. The brain tissue didn’t look like human gray matter. It looked more like a giant octopus raddled with tumours and unusual fibrous extrusions.

“They say it’s not possible to preserve Kaiju brains.” Adam frowned and whispered. “And they looked way smaller than they should be.”

“I have my ways.“ Nigel chuckled. He handed Adam a tablet. “And they look way smaller than they should be because they’re from a fucking new born Kaiju. It’s in the document. Do you have anymore questions?”

“A baby Kaij—“ Adam went quiet immediately, feeling like it was something that he shouldn't have known. It was a classified document, so Adam turned the tablet off without reading it. 

Nigel watched Adam with an amused grin. “Here, you still need to sign these off before I get the money.” 

By the time all documents were signed and by the time payment had been confirmed and transferred into Nigel’s company account, the preserved Kaiju organs were already securely packed in giant sealed crates, waiting to be transported back to K-Science facilities by the chopper. 

Nigel handed Adam a black plastic business card with a cartoonish Kaiju Remedies logo printed on it in gold. 

“Call me, Dr. Raki, if you need anything else.” Nigel said cheerily. 

Adam blinked at the number on the business card, and gave Nigel a straightforward answer, “Thank you, but I don’t think I’d need anything else from you. Besides, I don’t like Kaiju, or their body parts, or products of their body parts. Thank you. Nigel. Um- Bye.”

Being turned down so bluntly was a first for Nigel; He was startled, but not discouraged; He tilted his head like a curious canine and gave Adam a disgustingly sweet smile, “Farewell then, Adam.” 

In the few seconds of their bodies brushing by accident while Adam turned away to pick up a call from the helicopter pilot, Nigel slipped his hand into the pocket of Adam’s coat and took the ID wallet silently from the scientist. He slipped it into his shirt pocket without being noticed effortlessly. 

They were definitely going to meet again, then, Nigel mused to himself. 

— 

Sweating like a bull, a drop of perspiration dripped down Elias’ forehead onto the moustache over his cleft palate as he looked around and behind him for the 13th time. 

Nobody was looking his way. Nobody took notice that, technically, Elias’ shift had already finished about fifteen minutes ago, and that he should have left his dissecting station at ‘Kaiju Remedies’ by now.

There was a dead Kaiju Skinmite lying on the counter of his work station; Freshly killed by a knife stabbing through its exoskeleton; The body sealed nice and tight in a vacuum-sealed bag; but unlike other dead Kaiju Skinmite Elias worked on, the one on the table was not tagged with a tracking scanning code. 

Elias felt his heart thumping loudly in his chest. His breathing was heavy, air rushing in and out of his nostrils. He stared at the dull blue liquid that was the alien bug’s body fluid squeezed and trapped between two layers of acid resistant plastic. It was so gross but fascinating that he couldn’t tear his eyes from it and look away. 

With shaking hands, he picked up the bagged corpse of the Kaiju Skinmite, and slipped it quickly into a battered shopping bag he was carrying while nobody was looking his way. 

It was easier than Elias had imagined. Everybody in Kaiju Remedies was too busy working, chatting, to notice that Elias had stolen an asset. Fact is, nobody had ever cared about Elias enough to acknowledge his presence, even though he was right there in the same room with them. 

Sneaking his way towards the exit dramatically cautious and slow with a suspicious poker face, Elias reached the backdoor of Kaiju Remedies and without alarming anyone, he successfully slipped out into the filthy alley behind the shop that led to the main street. 

Still jumpy and anxious, Elias kept looking behind him to see if he was being followed. His face didn't relax until he saw the orange glow of street lamps lining the main street ahead of him.

Having blended in perfectly with the crowd passing by, Elias relaxed, even just a little; His clefted upper lip pulled back and broke into a proud, crooked smile that revealed the tip of his pointed teeth in between the gap. He took out his phone and sent a text to an unfamiliar number, asking for a rendezvous at _The Bull_ in fifteen minutes. 

He was breathless again by the time he reached _The Bull_. 

_The Bull_ was one of the busiest bars in town, filled with beautiful people, perfect people. Sitting at a table in the shadows, Elias’ eyes were gleaming as he regarded the dancing crowd with despise and envious stares. 

_If only I were that pretty too._ Elias thought and muttered to himself quietly in Danish. He picked up a piece of cheese from the platter that he ordered; He almost spit it back out immediately. It tasted awful. No cheese here could compare with the cheese back home, the ones that his brothers made at home. 

He was chewing absently on the last tasteless piece of cheese when a slim red-haired woman appeared before him, glaring at him with large blue eyes; She was dressed in all black, suspiciously ordinary. 

Her pale face was still as stone in stark contrast to her hair, which flew around like snakes. Tilting her head with impatience and disdain, she asked Elias coldly, “Where is it?”

Elias flicked on his phone and called the number of the person whom he was waiting for, relived to see the woman’s phone buzzed in her hand. 

_Unbelievable._ The woman gave him a dramatic eye roll, then repeated, “WHERE-IS-IT?”

Elias handed her the shopping bag with a mischievous smile, delighted to see the disgusted expression on the woman’s face as she peered into it. 

From her handbag, the woman pulled out a roll of cash, then threw it into Elias’ waiting hands.

Elias removed the rubber band and counted the notes one by one; When he looked back up, the woman was about to disappeared in the cheering crowd as if she was never there…Only to be stopped by a leather-gloved hand hovering in the air. The hand was from a man; A man whom Elias would recognise anywhere. 

There was a bright green scarf wrapped around his neck; A green scarf that Elias gave his lover precisely a year ago on his birthday. 

The man with the green scarf approached the red-haired woman with a sly grin on his angelic face, “Hey, Freddie!”

In returned, the woman glared at him wearing an equally smug expression, “Towers.”

“Oh! What do you have here?” With a frown and a knowing smile, Towers took a step closer to Freddie as if he was about to snatch the bag from Freddie’s arms; Satisfied to see the woman hugging it tighter instinctively to her chest. 

So, inside that bag was something difficult to get even for Freddie Lounds; Something Freddie bought from Elias, but probably with a price way lower than it should be if it were to be sold underground. Adam had a vague idea what it was, even though he wasn’t entirely sure. 

“Hey! Hands off!” Freddie raised her voice defensively, “I’ve paid for it.” 

Towers’ eyes never leaving Freddie’s as he took the pile of cash from Elias’ hand, and Elias let him. He pretended to count the notes, and looked back up at Freddie with tightened lips and raised eyebrows. He told Freddie, “He’s my friend.”

Freddie didn’t say anything; She just stared at him, hard, with her bright blue eyes. There was a long moment of awkward silence between the three of them; Then Freddie finally gave in. From her pocket she pulled three more notes out and shoved them into Towers’ hands, “Fine! Now let me go!”

Towers hissed a playful laugh as he stepped out of her way. The red-haired woman gave him a fierce glare, before slipping back smoothly into the dark crowd like a shadow. She was gone in a flash. 

Elias watched her go with a puzzled expression. He avoided his lover’s eyes as the beautiful man sat down next to him intimately close. 

“Hello, Adam.” Elias said quietly.

Adam regarded him with an air of displeasure. “How did Freddie Lounds find you?”

“She called me…on the phone.”

“What was that in the bag?”

“Skin…Skinmite.” Elias’ voice was almost inaudible now. He added, “Dead.”

“Jesus Christ, Elias.” Adam bit his lips and looked away, his accent thicker now that he raised his voice, trying to yell at his boyfriend yet in a restrained manner. “What the hell were you thinking? What if you get caught? What if you get caught, Hm? They’ll kill you, chop you into pieces, then feed you to a tank of Skinmites before you reach prison! Elias Thanatos! What the fuck? What do you need the money for, anyway?”

A tear threatened to spill. Elias wiped it away before Adam saw. 

“For your birthday.” Elias murmured.   

Adam frowned, “What did you say?”

“For your birthday, Adam.” Elias repeated with a louder voice. He was still too ashamed to look his beautiful Adam in the eyes. “I- I just want to get you something…decent, for once.”

Now it was Adam’s turn to go very quiet. He was truly at a loss for words, which was rare. “Oh.”

Adam was angry; Adam was angry at him. Elias felt a panic rising in his chest. What if Adam decided to report him because he had stolen something from his boss, because he was a pathetic thief? What if Adam left him? What if they broke up tonight? Like right now… 

“Adam, I’m sorry.” Elias apologised. He was crying now, tears draining down from his sad eyes, mixed with the snot coming out his nostrils. “Forgive me, Adam. Please.”

“You.” Adam looked at Elias, feeling utterly defeated in every way. His fury long gone as he let out a sigh, “Come here.”

Adam pulled Elias into his arms, and let the gross man sob softly on his shoulder. He brushed a hand up and down Elias’ back, shushing him. Adam whispered, “Ahhhhh…You silly bastard. What should I do with you.” 

“Are you angry at me, Adam?”

“No, I’m not.” Adam replied. “Not anymore.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Happy birthday, Adam.”

“Thank you, Elias.”

The two men hugged tighter. Neither man wanted to let go. People around them cheered, mockingly, because Elias looked kind of hilarious, and disgusting. They knew they were being laughed at, but Elias and Adam couldn’t care less because they had each other, and that was enough for them.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on Tumblr too :D [@vulcanplomeeksoup](http://vulcanplomeeksoup.tumblr.com) Come chat with me about Hannibal !


End file.
